CONFERENCE CALL

We were all exchanging ideas on Messenger about the arrangements for getting Mum safely back to her home soon, so it seemed sensible to convert it to a video call.

Sister A2 (left middle) is in a small town in frozen Texas (pop. 1990 in 2010, though at least 1999 by now since her daughter, s-i-l and their six children moved there, and A2 for the time being, until she can move on). She is very lucky to have electricity and heat in her apartment, but the water is intermittent and dribbly because the town main is broken and the two town water pumps are awaiting spare parts and can only be turned on alternately for short periods. She reckons it will be a long time before it's all sorted out even though the thaw is coming this weekend. She also knows who she feels is responsible. She was about to walk, very carefully, to the grocery store to see whether they had any fresh food. She's since reported back that the shelves were almost empty but she got what she needed and they were giving away leftover Valentine's bouquets. She's our baby sister, so the rest of us wish she could get out of that place and come back here.

Another call is booked just to do the crossword together tomorrow.